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We are back.

The Philippine economy beat expectations by recording a spectacular growth of 7.2 percent in the last quarter of 2022. This in turn contributed to a 7.6 percent growth for the whole year. This was nothing short of astounding in the face of the debilitating impact of the pandemic, the continuing increase in the prices of goods, and the protracted conflict in Ukraine.

The Philippine economy can be likened to a money train—it keeps on expanding robustly and nothing for now can stop it from speeding ahead.


I am one of those least surprised about the economy’s performance in 2022. The solid gross domestic product growth of 7.6 percent in 2022 lends credence to reports that the Philippines emerged from the pandemic as one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia, if not the world, today.

One of the critical challenges facing the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is the problem of transportation. And one particular problem revolves around our airports. This was in full public and global view on New Year’s Day when a severe power outage at the nation’s air traffic control system led to the disruption of hundreds of flights during the start of the new year. Just last week, another snafu affected several flights in NAIA.